This invention relates to telephone networks, and more specifically to call origination processing.
Telephone subscribers are provided with a variety of services, some of which are provided as optional services requiring an additional payment by a subscriber electing such services. Plain old telephone service (POTS) subscribers of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) have access to a variety of standard features such as three-way conference calling, speed dialing, etc. These features are provided by the PSTN switch that supports call origination services its subscribers, i.e. the switch to which the subscriber's telephone lines are connected. The services are normally associated with a particular telephone line termination on the switch. These services are provided to the subscriber only on the predetermined telephone line of the subscriber.
For groups of devices with a common affiliation, e.g. multiple phones belonging to a specific subscriber like a desk phone, cellular phone, and/or softphone, it is many times desirable to provide a common user experience for a call originating from (or terminating to) that device. Normally, such devices are supported by different networks despite the fact that they are owned by the same subscriber. Because of this fact, user experience for the subscriber can vary based on: 1. the implementation of services in the different networks 2. The way services are provisioned in the different networks. Each network may support its own call origination features such as a speed dialing list, extension-only dialing capabilities, etc. Normally such call origination features are separate to the different networks. That is, a subscriber that initiates a call from a telephone outside of the network where the desk phone is subscribed, e.g. a general PSTN supported telephone or a cellular telephone, will not be able to utilize the same call origination features made available to that subscriber's desk phone. Therefore, a need exists to provide access to call origination features provided to a subscriber when the subscriber initiates calls from any one of his/her devices.